RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS


      IN THE CASE OF:


      BOARD DATE:         25 JANUARY 2005
      DOCKET NUMBER:  AR20040000381


      I certify that hereinafter is recorded the true and complete record
of the proceedings of the Army Board for Correction of Military Records in
the case of the above-named individual.

|     |Mr. Carl W. S. Chun               |     |Director             |
|     |Ms. Deborah L. Brantley           |     |Senior Analyst       |


      The following members, a quorum, were present:

|     |Ms. Kathleen Newman               |     |Chairperson          |
|     |Mr. James Anderholm               |     |Member               |
|     |Ms. LaVerne Douglas               |     |Member               |

      Exhibit A - Application for correction of military records.

      Exhibit B - Military Personnel Records (including advisory opinion,
if any).

THE APPLICANT'S REQUEST, STATEMENT, AND EVIDENCE:

1.  The applicant requests, in effect, reconsideration of his request for
award of the Army of Occupation Medal with “Japan” clasp.

2.  The applicant also requested that his unit of assignment on his
separation document be corrected to show that he was assigned to the
“Central Film Exchange, APO 404.”

3.  The applicant states, in effect, that his last unit of assignment was
the Central Film Exchange and that his service in Japan warrants award of
the Army of Occupation Medal.

4.  The applicant provides a statement from an individual who identifies
himself as a member of the United States Army Pictorial Service who took a
“company of men with myself as Captain and Officer in charge” to “Japan
from the Philippines to service the 8th Army.”  In that statement the
former Army officer states that the applicant was assigned to the “Tokyo
Branch Office.”

CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE:

1.  Incorporated herein by reference are military records which were
summarized in the previous consideration of the applicant's case by the
Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) in Docket Number
AR1999028815 on 22 March 2000.

2.  Information available to the Board indicates that in 1999 the applicant
petitioned the Board to correct his records to show entitlement to the Army
of Occupation Medal based on his service in Japan.  In that request he
stated that he arrived in Japan from Manila on 7 October 1945 and was
assigned to the Central Film Exchange until 31 January 1946.  In support of
his request he submitted copies of a Thanksgiving Day menu from the Kowana
Hotel in Iza, Japan, copies of photographs he took in Japan, and a history
of the Transport Ship 898, which he stated took him to Japan.  The Board
denied his request, based on the fact that his final unit of assignment
(3273rd Signal Service Detachment), reflected on his separation document,
was not identified as a unit having been granted occupation credit for
Japan.

3.  On 28 June 2000 the applicant submitted a petition to have his last
unit of assignment changed on his separation document to show he was
assigned to the Central Film Exchange, APO 404.  In support of that request
he submitted a copy of his “log book” and the 9 June 2000 statement from
his former senior officer, which was included with his most recent request
for reconsideration.  That request was closed admininstratively when it was
determined that because the applicant’s military file had likely been
destroyed during the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center,
there was insufficient evidence on which to base a fair, impartial and
equitable determination.  He was advised to reapply at any time if he could
submit the necessary supporting documents, such as orders or other
documents that were dated and showed his unit of assignment.

4.  On 30 September 2000 the applicant requested reconsideration of his
request for award of the Army of Occupation Medal with “Japan” clasp and
included the
9 June 2000 statement from his former senior officer.  That request was
also closed administratively.

5.  The 9 June 2000 statement from the applicant’s former senior officer
was never considered by the Board, in spite of having been received within
one year of the applicant’s original application.  As such, it would be
appropriate for the Board to consider that statement.  Additionally, based
on information contained in that same statement, it would also be
appropriate for the Board to consider the applicant’s petition to change
the unit of assignment reflected on his separation document which was never
considered by the Board.

6.  The applicant’s 1946 separation document indicates that the applicant
entered active duty on 10 May 1943 and that he performed duties as a “Sound
Projector Repairman.”  He arrived in the European Theater of Operations in
February 1944.  According to his logbook by November 1944 he was assigned
to the Army Pictorial Service-Central Training Library (APO 413) in the
United Kingdom.  His logbook indicates that on 7 December 1944 he was
assigned to the 3273rd Signal Service Detachment located at the same APO
number.  The 3273rd Signal Service Detachment is the unit of assignment
reflected on his separation document.

7.  In previous applications to the Board, the applicant indicated that in
July 1945 he was assigned to the 3350th Signal Maintenance Company while in
France and then transferred to the Philippines.  He notes that in September
1945 he was assigned to the Central Film Exchange, APO 404, in Japan.  He
supports his units of assignments by entries in his logbook and an undated
“Class A Pass” for “enlisted men, 3350th Signal Base Maint Co.”

8.  According to the 9 June 2000 statement from the applicant’s former
senior officer, the applicant served “in my command in the Army of
occupation in Japan.”  The author noted that he was a captain in the Army
Pictorial Service and that in 1945 “when Peace was declared a company of
men with myself as Captain and Officer in charge went to Japan from the
Philippines to service the 8th Army.”  He states that a headquarters was
set up in Yokohama, Japan with branches in various cities, including Tokyo.
 He states that the applicant “came to us from the European Theatre and was
assigned to our Tokyo Branch Office.”

9.  In addition to the statement from his former senior officer, the
applicant also cited his logbook, the Thanksgiving Day menu, and
photographs as evidence of his assignment in Japan.

10.  The applicant’s separation document indicates that the applicant
arrived in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater on 2 September 1945 and departed on
29 January 1946 and was awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, which
is recorded as the Asiatic Pacific Theater Ribbon on his separation
document.

11.  The applicant was honorably discharged on 16 February 1946 at Camp
Atterbury, Indiana, as a result of demobilization.  The applicant
authenticated the accuracy of the information on his separation document by
his signature and thumbprint.  His final payment voucher does not reflect a
unit of assignment only that his “previous organization (or place)” was APO
703.  APO 703 served a variety of locations in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater,
including Japan and the Philippines.

12.  Army Regulation 600-8-22 states that the Army of Occupation Medal was
established in 1946 and awarded for 30 consecutive days at a normal post of
duty, as contrasted to inspector, visitor, courier, escort, passenger,
temporary duty, or detached service.  Entitlement to the Army of Occupation
Medal with “Japan” clasp required service in Japan between 3 September 1945
and 27 April 1952 and that service between 3 September 1945 and 2 March
1946 “will be counted only if the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal was
awarded for service before 3 September 1945.”

13.  Technical Manual 12-235, which prescribed the policy and procedures
for the preparation and distribution of separation documents during the
period in question, states that the last unit, or similar element to which
the individual was assigned, rather than the element of which he was a part
while moving to a separation activity will be entered in item 6
(organization) of the WD AGO Form 53-55.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS:

1.  Although the evidence supports the applicant’s contention that he
served in Japan, unfortunately determining whether he was merely in a
temporary duty status for the short period of deployment, or if he were in
fact assigned to a permanent billet in a unit, and what that unit might
have been, cannot be determined.  In the absence of more conclusive
evidence, it would be inappropriate to change the unit of assignment which
is recorded on his separation document, a unit which the applicant by his
signature and thumb printed certified was correct in 1946 when the document
was prepared.

2.  However, the evidence does confirm that the applicant arrived in the
Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations on 2 September 1945 thereby
qualifying for the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal “for service before 3
September 1945,” a requirement for award of the Army of Occupation Medal
with “Japan” clasp.  While it is not clear in what capacity the applicant
served in Japan, the evidence is sufficient to conclude that he did serve
there, and as such, in the interest of compassion and equity it would be
appropriate to award him that decoration.

BOARD VOTE:

________  ________  ________  GRANT FULL RELIEF

___KN __  ___JA___  ___LD __  GRANT PARTIAL RELIEF

________  ________  ________  GRANT FORMAL HEARING

________  ________  ________  DENY APPLICATION

BOARD DETERMINATION/RECOMMENDATION:

1.  The Board determined that the evidence presented was sufficient to
warrant amendment of the ABCMR’s decision in Docket Number AR1999028815,
dated 22 March 2000.  As a result, the Board recommends that all Department
of the Army records of the individual concerned be corrected by awarding
him the Army of Occupation Medal with “Japan” clasp.

2.  The Board further determined that the evidence presented is
insufficient to warrant a portion of the requested relief.  As a result,
the Board recommends denial of so much of the application that pertains to
correction of the unit of assignment on his 1946 separation document.



                                  ____Kathleen Newman_____
                                            CHAIRPERSON

INDEX

|CASE ID                 |AR20040000381                           |
|SUFFIX                  |                                        |
|RECON                   |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DATE BOARDED            |20050125                                |
|TYPE OF DISCHARGE       |(HD, GD, UOTHC, UD, BCD, DD, UNCHAR)    |
|DATE OF DISCHARGE       |YYYYMMDD                                |
|DISCHARGE AUTHORITY     |AR . . . . .                            |
|DISCHARGE REASON        |                                        |
|BOARD DECISION          |PARTIAL GRANT                           |
|REVIEW AUTHORITY        |                                        |
|ISSUES         1.       |107.00                                  |
|2.                      |110.00                                  |
|3.                      |                                        |
|4.                      |                                        |
|5.                      |                                        |
|6.                      |                                        |


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